One Week Ago...

Our baby girl Evelyn entered the world.

The stats:

Name - Evelyn Kay

Birthdate - May 24, 2012

Time - 6:01 am

Weight - 8lbs 13oz

Length - 19.75 inches

On our way home from the hospital...

Our first day home, in grandma's arms...

Her delivery was very different than I had thought it would be and included 

3 sleepless nights in "pre-labor,"

16 hours at the hospital,

a baby who wouldn't turn face down,

and an unplanned c-section.

But it also ended in this sweet face...

What more could I ask for?

Baby Waiting Brownies

I've been on maternity leave for 23 days now.

And I'm bored.

I've crocheted blankets and toys,

made nursery art,

and washed all the baby clothes.

And if I watch one more episode of A Baby Story

I just might kill someone.

What happens when I'm stuck at home with nothing to do?

I bake.

This past weekend, in between my "pre-labor" contractions

(which feel a lot like labor to me!)

I found some chocolate in the pantry 

and whipped up these brownies.

I used this recipe from The Joy of Baking website

and altered it just a bit to use dark chocolate

with swirls of white chocolate on top.

And they came out perfect,

with the right mix of a little bit cakey

and just enough fudgey

with a slight crisp on the outside.

Meanwhile, the hubs prepared himself for the

(hopefully soon)

arrival of our baby girl.

Dark and White Chocolate Swirled Brownies

Adapted from Joy of Baking

7 oz dark chocolate, broken in pieces

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2-3 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter an 8"x8"baking dish and line the bottom with parchment.

In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate and butter together over simmering water.

Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder and sugar.

Then add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time.  Stir well after each egg.

Last, stir in the flour and salt until smooth.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Now, melt the white chocolate and butter in a double boiler, stirring until smooth.

Drop dollops of white chocolate on top of the brownie batter.

Using a knife, swirl the white chocolate into the batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

ENJOY!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

For my last day of work a couple weeks ago

I decided to make a coffee cake for my coworkers.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite baking sites

The Joy of Baking

and spent the previous afternoon baking away.

The cake turned out beautifully.

It was the perfect mix of cake, blueberries, and streusel topping.

Unfortunately, I left it on the kitchen counter 

as I ran out of the apartment that morning.

Oops.

So my husband's coworkers got to enjoy it instead.

The cake makes a great breakfast treat,

as long as you remember to bring it with you!

Enjoy!

I Guess This is What They Call Nesting!

After finishing my baby blanket a few weeks ago

I was left with a big bag of leftover yarn

and a strong nesting instinct starting to kick in.

So I found some free crochet patterns and got to work.

The first is the caterpillar toy that I made into a rattle

by putting a cat toy in the head.

I was a bit nervous that I couldn't pull it off,

since the only thing I've ever made is blankets.

But the pattern was super easy and it was done within a day.

You can find that pattern here.

Once I finished that project,

I got inspired to make more crochet animals.

I found this adorable turtle on the Lion Brand website and got to work.

This was also surprisingly easy.

The most tedious part was sewing on all the little feet and tail.

You can find the pattern here.

There are all sorts of cute animal patterns that I'd like to try

like this penguin or this little piggie.

But with only 15 days till my due date

I think my little crochet zoo may have to wait!